So everybody had high hopes for this past week’s episode of Heroes, where we finally found out what happened immediately after last year’s finale and the four months since then. Overall, I thought it was a really enjoyable episode that helped fill in a lot of gaps and loose ends, but I don’t think it was the best episode of the entire season, either.
I loved the opening scene, with Peter and Nathan flying into the sky as Peter begins losing control of his newly acquired radioactive ability. I also really appreciated the fact that Peter explicitly stated that he can’t fly, and that he’s using all of his power to not explode (a big issue a lot of people, including myself, had with the finale). My prediction was correct, which is that Nathan dropped Peter before he blew up, which is how he survived. I also really liked how Peter regenerated off screen to catch Nathan and fly him to safety. Oh, and extra credit to the episode for including the “you saved the cheerleader so we could save the world” line.
I consider myself a pretty keenly observant guy while watching this show (aside from the “what’s Bob’s ability?” debacle), so I’m a bit ashamed to admit that it never really occurred to me that the Haitian could be responsible for Peter’s memory loss. I had always assumed that either his brain basically haywired since he had to go through so much to regenerate his entire body, or that maybe the events that occurred were so traumatic that he got amnesia (hi, 24!) So when it was revealed that the Haitian took his memory, out of mercy and gratitude, no less, I was deeply satisfied. The Haitian is a great character, and I’m hoping we learn more about his two very dissimilar and seemingly unconnected abilities, as well as his history with the Petrelli family.
Oh, and all week I’ve been racking my brain about whether Peter’s hair should immediately grow back when it’s cut.
If this episode should be remembered for anything, it should be the proper introduction of Elle. What a fun character she is, as I especially loved when she said that Peter “could be” her toy. It wasn’t made quite clear whether or not Bob is her father, and to tell you the truth, it would be a bit uncomfortable if he is, as she was basically trying to pounce Peter with Bob right there in the room. But anyway, I’m hoping we start to see more of this character as the remaining episodes continue to air. And like most men, I am looking SO forward to that inevitable Elle/Claire showdown, which would be made even more interesting if Bob is her father. Father vs. Father, daughter vs. daughter.
Of course, the finale is pretty nicely set up so that The Company (or the good guys) can use Adam/Kensei’s ability to cure the virus, so that Claire can be spared. Speaking of Adam/Kensei (that’s what I’m referring to him as until I grow into his “Adam” persona), I really enjoyed his portion of the episode. The whole thing with him saving Nathan was brilliant. On the one hand you can’t help but wonder if, deep down, he may have changed his ways throughout the past few hundred years. On the other hand, you just have to know that he simply did it so that Peter would trust him and be indebted to him (not to mention help him escape). Adam/Kensei’s escape also coincides quite nicely with the murder of the previous generation of heroes.
I continue to grow more and more intrigued by Angela’s ability (and I guess it’s still an assumption that she has one). There definitely seemed to be something going on when she was talking to Nathan’s wife, Heidi, in the hallway of the hospital. As Angela was caressing Heidi’s arm and hair, it seemed like she was doing something. What that “something” is, I’m unsure. Perhaps she has the ability to make others do her bidding, or believe what she’s saying, by making close physical contact? My only problem with that theory is that she almost certainly would have used it on Nathan last year when it became apparent that he might not let the explosion occur.
When I first read that D.L.’s death wasn’t due to the gunshot wound he suffered in the finale, I feared the worse: That Niki had once again lost it and killed him. I was really, really happy to learn that that’s not the case. Sure, she was still responsible, indirectly so, but I don’t think her character would have recovered if she had murdered the father of her son. Despite D.L.’s grim fate, I was pleased that, in its own twisted way, their story had a happy ending. When all was said and done, they made a genuine effort to live an honest life, and D.L. truly did become a hero. Along with that, their love conquered all of their obstacles until the end.
According to Bob, Niki’s alternate personality manifested because of the intense measure of her abilities (if I understood correctly). I’m curious as to why nobody else has evidently manifested another personality. I mean, if anybody has a reason to lose it mentally, it’s Peter, and he seems to have contained himself.
The Wonder Twins stuff was pretty harmless, so it didn’t really bother me. In fact, it gave us some interesting tidbits. For example, we now know that Maya has a strong belief in her faith (which is not necessarily shared by Alejandro), which is why she’s so willing to trust Sylar (she truly sees him as a sign from God). Along with that, the fact that Maya killed Alejandro’s wife, even though she was a bitch and it was inadvertent, could be the cause for some severe tension later on. I must keep asking myself, though, whether Maya and Alejandro each possess an ability that balances each other out, or if Alejandro is merely immune to Maya’s black tears of death, and the fact that he calms her only coincides with the fact that he’s the only one able to survive.
If there weren’t already a “Niki” on this show, I’d start referring to Maya and Alejandro as Nikki and Paulo, of Lost fame. For those not in the know, Nikki and Paulo were two new characters that the writers attempted to integrate into last season of Lost as if they had always been there. However, the fan backlash to their not too smooth introduction was so drastic that they were both killed off, pretty harshly so, within a few episodes. I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Wonder Twins face the same fate.
The one thing that really glared out as nonsense to me (and I’m sure I’m not the first one to mention this) was Nathan’s timeline. We are to expect that in the same amount of time Peter spent handcuffed in the shipping container, Nathan grew a bushy beard, became an alcoholic, and his wife left him and got a restraining order against him? What made it even worse was that when he was healed and his mother walked into the hospital room, Nathan looked rejuvenated and reinvented, not in despair. There just seemed like a massive discrepancy between his state of mind after his instant recovery and at the beginning of the season, which is supposed to be, what, like a week or so apart?
Come to think about it, I think it would have been much better (and made more sense) if Nathan’s beard spontaneously appeared after he was healed. I mean, considering his face resembled charcoal, I think it’s safe to assume that nobody was shaving him for three months. So, with his wounds healed, it wouldn’t be unbelievable if a heavy beard suddenly grew. And then maybe even have Angela tell Nathan “I have some bad news. It’s Heidi…” when she discovered Nathan had healed. I think the audience would have pieced together that she’s telling Nathan that his wife had left him while he was recuperating. I think that would have acted as a much better “connector” to the premiere.
And while I don’t think that the episode needed Claire (which it didn’t), I would have liked one scene where she desperately pleaded to visit Nathan in the hospital, so that she could use her ability to heal him, only for Bennet to refuse, insisting that they need to go into hiding for their own safety. It would have been a very simple scene to film, and would have been very consistent with both of their characters. After all, deep down Claire does care about Nathan (especially after his redemption in the final scene), and she has always struggled with the reality that her ability might be best used to heal others, and above all else, Bennet cares about protecting his family, even if others have to pay the consequences.
Another thing that irked me: Bob is the most snake-like character I have seen on this show in a long time. Everything he says just seethes with a sense of him having a sinister, ulterior motive. Everything from his tone of voice, to his facial expressions, to his choice of words makes me not trust this guy — so why is it that everybody seems so open to trust him? After dealing with Linderman, who never gave money without expecting something drastic in return, Nikki is willing to accept Bob’s money and aid? I understand that she was desperate, but still. Then there’s Peter, who was attacked and held captive, yet he still trusted Bob until Adam/Kensei talked some sense into him. And Mohinder is the worst of all! The Company (and Bob) is yet to do something trustworthy, yet he turns on Bennet to side with them? What is that expression about trusting the devil you know over the devil you don’t?
I’m writing this Thursday afternoon and I’ve had the opportunity to read a few other fan commentaries, so there are a few comments and opinions that I’d like to respond to. One person wondered why Peter hasn’t been able to replicate the Haitian’s abilities. My theory is that if Peter is close enough to the Haitian that he could hypothetically absorb his powers, they’re also close enough for the Haitian to suppress his ability to do so. It’s a catch 22, I guess.
Another person wondered how Elle, who evidently spent her whole life in The Company’s facility, could so comfortably handle herself in Ireland. Just because she’s lived there her whole life doesn’t mean that she’s never left. Along with that, it’s pretty clear that she’s gone on numerous assignments (she was with Bob to capture Peter, and with the Haitian to apprehend Peter and Adam/Kensei), so it’s not as if she’s some shut in that’s sequestered to her room.
Anyway, things are really starting to pick up, and I love the idea of the battle lines being drawn more now than ever. We have Niki and Mohinder with The Company. Meanwhile, Mohinder and Parkman are raising Molly together. However, Parkman and Nathan seem to be working together as well. That said, you have to imagine that Nathan would put Claire’s well being above pretty much anybody else’s, meaning he’d likely align himself with Bennet, who is venomously against The Company. We’ve also got Peter with Adam, who is against The Company and likely Hiro as well. And Adam may also be against Angela, which sets him at odds with Peter and Nathan. But he also saved Nathan’s life. I need a diagram, and I mean that in a good way.
I also love the idea of Bennet nabbing Elle and The Company kidnapping Claire, forcing a hostage trade of sorts.
